Tuesday, 29 December, 6.30 pm
Special benefit screeningSuffragette
Suffragette is a doco-drama of women’s historic struggle for the vote in early 20th century Britain. Drilling down beneath the layer of well-heeled campaigners, the film brings to light the working-class combatants. The story centres on Maud Watts, a laundry worker, wife and mother in pre-World War I London, whose life changes when she joins the UK suffragette movement. Inspired by the militant Emmeline Pankhurst and driven underground by police in violent pursuit of the “filthy Panks,” Maude and her sister warriors see civil disobedience against the State as the only way to win full rights and independence for women.

Cinema Nova, 380 Lygon St, Carlton

Tickets are $20.00 each and must be booked and paid for by Thursday, 24 December. Email RW: radicalwomen@optusnet.com.au and include an email address and phone number. We will advise payment options. Join the Facebook event for updates.

The screening is hosted by Radical Women as a fundraiser for RW’s ongoing revolutionary feminist, multi-issue work.

Saturday, 28 November, 9.30 am
Defend the Fertility Control Clinic from far-right harassment
Reclaim Australia held national rallies this past Sunday. Anti-abortion forces are part of a violent far-right movement intent on enforcing the “natural family” and a white, Christian Australia. Muslims are the first target, but women’s reproductive rights are also in its sights.

Wherever they appear, our diverse, grassroots forces must counter-organise and push them back. This Saturday, defend the Fertility Control Clinic against Helpers of God’s Precious Infants’ next “rosary parade.”

Fertility Control Clinic, 118 Wellington Parade, East Melbourne
Take Tram #48 or #75 to Powlett or Simpson Streets, East Melbourne.

Saturday, 21 November, 1.00 pm - 5.00 pm
Come toRadical Women’s Open HouseMeet & mingle with other fiery feminists!
2015 is almost over! Chill out with Radical Women, celebrate a firecracker of a year -- from confronting modern-day fascists and protecting abortion rights to being part of growing resistance against assaults on First Nations, refugees, education, jobs, civil liberties -- and share visions for 2016. Or just pop in and say hello. Enjoy solidarity and luscious food. All genders are welcome!

A spread of dishes suiting all diets will be served for a $7.00 donation.
All proceeds go toward RW’s revolutionary feminist work.

Sunday, 22 November, 11.00 am
No to Racism, No to Fascism: Stop Reclaim Australia!
Anti-Muslim fear-mongering is escalating, and Reclaim Australia has called national rallies for November 22. It is no coincidence that the rallies follow the recent launch of the Australian Liberty Alliance, which will stand in the 2016 elections on dangerous policies that include a 10-year moratorium on resident visas for people from Islamic countries.

The far right and modern-day Nazis are seriously working to build a movement. First, they scapegoat Muslims to split and weaken the working class. Next, they will target unionists, First Nations, immigrants, women, LGBTIQ people and others to blame us for capitalism’s worsening crisis. Big capital needs this movement to break our capacity to resist.

Recent attempts by fascists to intimidate the community aren’t working. In Melbourne, within a week, United Patriots Front thugs barged into the centres of the Melbourne Anarchist Club and 3CR Community Radio; they also assaulted a Muslim woman and anti-fascist activist. But their targets aren’t going silent, and community groups are mobilising harder for a huge turnout on November 22.

Let’s stop Reclaim Australia and their fascist friends! Hit the streets, and bring more people. Together, we are far stronger than they are.

Saturday, 24 October 9.30 am
Never Going Back! Defend the Fertility Control Clinic!

With anti-abortion harassment likely to escalate, the Fertility Control Clinic needs defending. In August, Victoria’s Supreme Court ruled that Melbourne City Council cannot be compelled to stop the harassers’ behaviour. Then early this month, Right to Life invited Operation Rescue (OR) leader, Troy Newman, to Australia to address national forums. Given OR’s violent record in the U.S. — bombing clinics, promoting the execution of doctors, calling for women who terminate pregnancies to be tried for murder, stalking clinic workers — it’s evident that the Australian anti-abortion movement is preparing to ramp up its campaign to end abortion rights and access. It aims to defeat NSW’s abortion decriminalisation bill, overturn Victoria’s abortion laws, and harass clinics into closure.

We can’t rely on state authorities to start protecting women’s abortion rights, and no exclusion zone is going to change this. For 10 years, the grassroots clinic defence has been the Fertility Control Clinic’s only protection. (Read more here.)

Come to the next clinic defence: Fertility Control Clinic, 118 Wellington Parade, East Melbourne.

Right to Life is touring Troy Newman, President of Operation Rescue (OR) from the U.S. OR has a violent history that includes bombings of clinics and defending the assassinations of doctors who perform abortions. Newman advocates the harassment of clinics, which includes stalking and publicly naming staff. He promotes the execution of abortion providers. He says that women who choose abortion are guilty of murder and should be punished.

Newman is also connected with the Center for Medical Progress, which is behind the smear campaign against Planned Parenthood, accusing PP of selling “aborted baby body parts.” This macabre misrepresentation of the provision of donated foetal tissue for research into diseases such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, diabetes, heart disease and kidney failure has been well exposed and disproved.

Defend abortion providers! Stand up for women’s right to choose!

Treacy Centre, 126 The Avenue, Parkville

Bring placards, banners, co-workers and friends! Tell Right to Life and Operation Rescue that we won’t tolerate their misogynist violence!

To endorse the action, email Radical Women: radicalwomen@optusnet.com.au
Go to the Facebook event to join and check updates.

Learn how this grassroots, socialist feminist organisation decides political priorities and evaluates its work. Everyone is welcome to this open meeting. Join in discussion about organising against neo-Nazis and the far right. Also on the agenda: Fertility Control Clinic defence’s 10th anniversary and planning future reproductive justice activities. Come with your ideas!

A springtime supper will follow the meeting at 8.00 pm for an $8.50 donation. The meeting is free.

The Fertility Control Clinic needs defending, now more than ever. In August, Victoria’s Supreme Court ruled that Melbourne City Council cannot be compelled to stop anti-abortionists from harassing the clinic — even though it found that the Helpers of God’s Precious Infants’ actions constitute a nuisance. This is a very bright green light to the anti-abortion side, and the harassment will very likely escalate.

A bill to establish an exclusion zone is now before the Victorian Parliament, and it might pass. But this will not end the violence. Anti-abortionists are intent on shutting down women’s access to safe abortion, and they will not let a legal buffer stop them. Events in the U.S. have shown this.

Only through organised and determined community action have abortion rights been won and defended. It is grassroots activists who have protected the Fertility Control Clinic and women’s right to safely access it — not the Victorian Police, Melbourne City Council or the Supreme Court.

From September 26, let’s build the clinic defence to full strength. Step up the defence of the Fertility Control Clinic and Victoria’s abortion rights!

Fertility Control Clinic, 118 Wellington Parade, East Melbourne

For more information, contact Radical Women: radicalwomen@optusnet.com.au or join the
Facebook event.

This clinic defence will celebrate a milestone. For 10 years, grassroots reproductive rights activists have kept the monthly anti-abortion “rosary parade” away from the clinic’s gates. Since 27 August 2005, defenders have stopped Helpers of God’s Precious Infants from obstructing women entering and leaving the clinic, shoving lurid pictures in their faces, hurling abuse, and photographing them. Victoria Police and Melbourne City Council call this misogynist conduct “free speech” and legitimate “protest.” The community calls it violent harassment.

This month, we will honour the decade with a speakout. Hear clinic staff, original defenders and longtime regulars relate highlights and why defending the clinic is so important. Add your voice. Let’s talk about how to turn a tenacious defence into a movement that will make all clinics safely accessible and win reproductive justice for all women.

Fertility Control Clinic, 118 Wellington Parade, East Melbourne
Take Tram #48 or #75 to Powlett or Simpson Streets, East Melbourne

For more information, contact Radical Women: radicalwomen@optusnet.com.au or join the Facebook event.

Saturday, 29 August, 5.30 pm
Feminism in Africa: From its ancient roots to now

African feminism is as old as society. And it’s alive and kicking, as ever before -- from Kenyan women asserting their right to dress as they choose and Nigerians standing up to the misogynist Boko Haram to feminists organising across the continent for LGBTIQ rights.

Come and hear Nita Okoko, Kenyan feminist, international student at Melbourne University and Radical Women member. Nita will show a long and heroic history -- from Africa’s original matriarchal societies, some still existing, to today’s indomitable struggle to restore women’s equality. Join in discussion about what makes this leadership of women both unique and universal.

Followed by a delicious supper of African dishes, for an $8.50 donation. Everyone is welcome!

For more information, contact 03-9388-0062 or radicalwomen@optusnet.com.au

Every second Wednesday, 5 August – 11 November, 6.30 pm
Study circle:
Fascism — What it is and how to fight it

Do the emergence of Reclaim Australia, the intensifying rants of anti-choice bigots and parliamentary support for the far-right World Congress of Families worry you? Does the rise of Golden Dawn in Greece and election of the fascist French National Front and the UK Independence Party to the European Parliament send shivers down your spine? Join us in discussion about why rightwing and neo-Nazi groups are growing internationally and how we can stop them.

Starts Wednesday 5 August, then every second Wednesday:5 August: What is fascism?19 August: Where Nazis find allies and why big business pays their bills 2 September: Fascist strategy: Crushing organised labour by demonising people of colour, immigrants, Muslims, Jews, First Nations, LGBTIQ, women, socialists and humanists 16 September: The role of the state in the rise of the stormtroopers 30 September: The Australian right: From the New Guard to Reclaim Australia 14 October: Hard-won lessons from anti-Nazi efforts across the globe 28 October: How to beat the ultra-right: Build the United Front!11 November: Socialist democracy: The permanent solution to fascism

Join us for a healthy dinner, catering for varied diets, at 6:30 pm for $8.50 donation. The discussion commences at 7:00 pm.

Over the weekend of July 18-19, Reclaim Australia is mobilising for the second time in Melbourne and other cities around Australia. Please be part of the counter-rally on July 18 at Parliament House, Spring Street, Melbourne.

Reclaim Australia is a dangerous nationalistic, anti-Muslim grouping with neo-Nazi ties, the most public being the United Patriots Front. In April, Melbourne came out in our thousands to run Reclaim Australia out of Federation Square. In May, we repelled the United Patriots Front from Melbourne’s multicultural, working-class Richmond. On July 18, we need to overpower them again.

A huge, united and disciplined counter-mobilisation will stop the extreme right before it can grow into a movement. Be part of this, and bring people! Join the Campaign Against Racism and Fascism Facebook event, and follow updates about the counteractions in Melbourne and other cities.

The same types rallying around Reclaim Australia on July 18 oppose women's reproductive freedom. The anti-abortionists who harass the Fertility Control Clinic and women using its services are part of the far-right movement, which wants to make White Australia and Kinder, Küche, Kirche (children, kitchen, church) the norm.

Defend the Fertility Control Clinic and women's abortion rights! Every turning back of the anti-abortionists' "Rosary Parade" is a strike against the misogynist, homophobic, racist and xenophobic far right. And it's another step toward building a movement capable of making them history.

Talking Back is a new anthology featuring an unusually diverse group of writers speaking out on issues affecting communities of colour. Contributors share tales of survival, uncover little-known history and the roots of oppression, plus offer strategies to resist and win. This reading circle will explore the thought-provoking ideas put forward by these grassroots rebel leaders and apply them to the everyday struggles against injustice that we face in this country. Everyone is welcome!

8 July: In their footsteps

Join us for a hearty dinner, catering for varied diets, at 6.30 pm for $8.50 donation. The discussion commences at 7.00 pm.

Co-hosted by Radical Women and Freedom Socialist Party
For more information: radicalwomen@optusnet.com.au or phone 9388-0062

Sunday, June 28, 6:00 pm
Film sreeningCelebrate the 46th anniversary of the 1969 Stonewall riots!

Come to a special movie screening of The World Unseen.

This drama, which got rave reviews in the LGBTIQ media, is set in the 1950s in Cape Town, South Africa as the nakedly inhuman, hellish system of institutionalized white supremacy known as apartheid took shape. It tells a moving story as two Indian South African women fall in love in a racist, sexist and homophobic society.

MC, Lisa Farrell, will pay tribute to the Stonewall rebels and introduce the film. Lisa is a queer public sector unionist, a campaigner to stop deaths in custody and a member of Radical Women's "Zine Team."

After the screening, enjoy a South African style supper that will rival what one of the film's heroines – the free spirited Amina – would cook up at her Location Café, which defies convention by welcoming diners of all races.

The bar will be open and you can discuss the film, apartheid, racism, sexism and homophobia in 2015 and find out more about how to get involved with Radical Women.

For more information contact 03-9388-062 or radicalwomen@optusnet.com.au

Sunday, 14 June, 2.00 pm
Melbourne memorial meeting to celebrate the life and honour the legacy of Ray Jackson

On 23 April, we lost Wiradjuri warrior, unionist, socialist feminist and community organiser, Ray Jackson. Born 27 March 1941, Ray was 74 years old.

On 1 May, family, friends and comrades in Sydney held the "Last March with Ray" to commemorate and celebrate the life and times of Ray Jackson.

This Melbourne event is an opportunity for those who knew Ray and for those who never met him. Inspired by his role as a leader in the campaign to stop Aboriginal deaths in custody, we will honour his legacy by continuing the crucial fight for what Ray called Koori Justice.

Family, friends and comrades will speak, and everyone is welcome.

The program will include an open platform to share short remembrances. After the program, there will be an opportunity to socialise and informally exchange memories.

Maritime Union of Australia, 54 Ireland St, West Melbourne

Hosted by comrades, friends and family of Ray Jackson.
Supported by Indigenous Social Justice Association – Melbourne, Freedom Socialist Party, Radical Women, 3CR Doin’ Time Show and Flemington Kensington Community Legal Centre.

For more information, contact radicalwomen@optusnet.com.au or 03-9388-0062

Sunday, 31 May, 12.00 pm
Stamp out fascism before it grows!Stop the fascists in Richmond
A split from the fascist Reclaim Australia, led by the "Great Aussie Patriot," plans to rally outside Richmond Town Hall. Richmond is a multicultural inner Melbourne suburb with a proud history of working class solidarity. The fascists' intent is to wage war on the Left. They chose this town hall to target Socialist Party Councillor Steve Jolly and to take down the Aboriginal and rainbow flags that prominently fly above the building.

Radical Women is part of the Campaign Against Racism and Fascism, which repelled Reclaim Australia when it first mobilised in April. The campaign is organising a counter-rally to run the fascists out of Richmond and stop this movement before it can spread.

Rally at Richmond Town Hall, 333 Bridge St, Richmond.

To join the Radical Women and Freedom Socialist Party contingent, please contact RW: radicalwomen@optusnet.com.au or 03-9388-0062.

Activists of colour will speak out at a May Day event to celebrate the publication of Talking Back: Voices of Color. They will share their perspectives and read highlights from the new anthology published by Red Letter Press.

The book features political, feminist and cultural perspectives of activist African Americans, Latina/os, Asian Pacific Americans, First Nations people, Arabs, LGBTQ, immigrants, political prisoners, and more. An interview with Palm Island Aboriginal freedom fighter Lex Wotton reveals the deadly combination of racism and police violence in Australia bringing his story to an international audience.

Lex Wotton will officially launch the book. Other featured speakers and readers:

Daniela Alvarado is an Ecuadorian feminist. She is a reproductive justice activist and international student at Melbourne University.Kai Clancy is a brotherboy from the Wakka Wakka and Wulli Wulli nations. He is a feminist and a member of Warriors of the Aboriginal Resistance.Lulu Garcia is a Mexican feminist and teacher. She co-produces Accent of Women, which gives voice to women from diverse cultures and languages in Australia and around the world.Babuan Mirino fled from Biak Island (West Papua) to Australia, seeking asylum, in 2009, and works at the Federal Republic of West Papua Women's Office in Docklands.Nita Okoko is an international student from Kenya. She is interested in gender and intersectionality.Sebastian Suryono is Indonesian born gay man. He is a secular Muslim and a member of the Community and Public Sector Union.

A Middle Eastern spread will be served after the program for a $10 donation. Free with the purchase of a copy of Voices of Color, which retails in Australia for $20.

Charlie Hebdo; Syriza’s electoral victory in Greece; Indigenous people organising against police violence, from Redfern to the U.S.; West Papuans’ fight for freedom. Come and be part of a roundtable discussion of these and other world events covered in the latest issues of the international Freedom Socialist and Australian Freedom Socialist Organiser— both hot off the presses. Choose an article to talk about, or just chime in with your thoughts about the papers’ analysis. Everyone is welcome!

Saturday, 4 April, 12.00pm
Stamp out fascism before it grows! Rally against racism!
The fascist "Reclaim Australia" plans to hold anti-Muslim rallies in Melbourne and nationally. This group is stirring up paranoia about "Islamisation" to draw people into blaming Muslims for the worsening economic hardship, which is actually caused by the crisis of global capitalism.

Radical Women is part of a united front of organisations counter-mobilising to stop these fascists before they can grow. The rally will be at Federation Square, corner of Swanston & Flinders Streets, Melbourne.

Radical Women and our sister organisation, the Freedom Socialist Party, will have a joint contingent. If you'd like to join in, please get in touch with Radical Women: radicalwomen@optusnet.com.au.

Friday, 10 April, 4.00pm
Stop the forced closures of Aboriginal communities!Under Aboriginal leadership, national resistance has been building to stop government closures of First Nations communities. Since March, thousands have consistently hit the streets to stop this latest act of genocide. In Melbourne, these actions have brought the city to a standstill.

Radical Women will have a contingent at Melbourne's next massive action this Friday. Please join us from 3.45 pm at the steps of Finders Street Station.

For more information about RW's contingent, contact us: radicalwomen@optusnet.com.au. For info about the rally, check this Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/431020920389568/

For nearly 10 years, grassroots activists have protected the clinic from anti-abortion zealots' monthly "rosary parade." State authorities -- which are quick to crack down on the poor, the homeless and protesters -- do nothing to stop the blatant, vicious and relentless harassment of women who exercise their right to a safe abortion.

The misogynist far right aims to harass abortion services out of existence. Its sexist, racist, homophobic, anti-working-class agenda is to strip women of any right or capacity to make genuine choices. Join in defending the Fertility Control Clinic. Help build a movement to win full reproductive rights for all women!

Fertility Control Clinic, 118 Wellington Parade, East Melbourne
Take Tram #48 or #75 to Powlett or Simpson streets

For more information, email Radical Women: radicalwomen@optusnet.com.au or see Facebook Radical Women Australia.

Wednesday, 25 March, 7:00pm
Organising meetingGetting down to business!
Want to see how socialist feminists put ideas to work in these fast-moving times? Everyone is welcome to this open meeting. Learn about anti-fascist organising against the likes of "Reclaim Australia." Also on the agenda: planning future activities for reproductive justice, supporting the speaking tour of Palm Island leader, Lex Wotton, and more. Your ideas are needed to make these events successful!

Come celebrate International Women’s Day with Radical Women and honour women’s historic struggle to transform the world -- from Syria to Mexico, Ferguson to Aboriginal Australia. March with RW, holding placards that demand equal pay, queer and trans liberation, open borders, the end to Aboriginal deaths in custody, full reproductive justice and much more. Or bring your own!

RW’s contingent will meet 12.45 pm at the front steps of the State Library (opposite Melbourne Central Station). Look for our placards!

2015 marks the clinic defence’s 10th year, stopping the Rosary Parade of anti-abortion zealots from harassing the Fertility Control Clinic, its staff and women using this health service. Victoria decriminalised abortion seven years ago, but the harassment hasn’t let up. Nor has the far-right’s mission to recriminalise abortion and control women’s reproduction.

In the U.S., reproductive rights campaigners are counter-mobilising against the same forces that want to overturn the 1973 Supreme Court ruling (Roe v Wade), which legalised abortion throughout the country. On January 22, Roe v Wade’s 42nd anniversary, the U.S. Congress will vote on a bill that would ban abortions beyond 20 weeks.

On January 31, we will defend the clinic in solidarity with those defending women’s abortion rights in the U.S. Join us! Let’s make this a year when we drive these would-be woman controllers off our streets and out of our lives!

Fertility Control Clinic, 118 Wellington Parade, East Melbourne
Take Tram #48 or #75 to Powlett or Simpson Streets.

In 2015 Melbourne Pride March turns 20. Radical Women was there at the first march, and we’re celebrating this anniversary by initiating a Sassy Socialist Feminist Contingent. All flagrantly rebellious revolutionary feminists — of all genders or no gender — are warmly welcome to participate.

Our demands:
• We'll define our family -- equal adoption and reproductive rights for LGBTIQ people
• Free Chelsea Manning, free all political prisoners!
• Justice for Aboriginal sistagirl Veronica Baxter, Julieka Dhu, and all who have died in custody!
• Papua New Guinea is not safe for LGBTIQ refugees -- open the borders, close the camps!

Want to help make this contingent fabulous? Contingent organisers, Lisa and Alison, would love to hear from you! Email radicalwomen@optusnet.com.au or call 03-9388-0062.

Saturday & Sunday, 21 & 22 February, 10.30 am - 3.30 pm
Radical Women Summer School:A Crash Course in Socialist Feminism
Wonder what feminism is and why it’s so controversial? Or why feminists are divided over the idea of equality and how to get it? Do you believe feminism is for everybody? Join this weekend summer school and explore socialist feminism through multiple media and active discussion.

See how women bridge, lead and inspire struggles across the world for liberation from this inhuman, thieving, warmongering, planet-destroying profit system. Learn how revolutionary feminism can bring this system down.

This 2-day summer school will be held at Solidarity Salon, 580 Sydney Road, Brunswick
(Between Blyth & Stewart Streets. Take Tram #19 or Upfield train to Anstey. Plenty of parking.)All genders are welcome!

Lunch and light snacks are available for a $15 donation (covers both days).